He is advocating spending two billion dollars to bring an Expo to Edmonton.
Maybe I am the only one remotely concerned with the growing national debt here, but I am of the mindset that we can't be against a stadium in Quebec city, yet for the Expo in Edmonton.

While I appreciate where Monte is coming from,I am of the mindset that advocating any spending like this till we get our feet back under us economically is irresponsible and sliding a few billion to placate the 7/8 Conservative seats in Edmonton is no less wrong then tossing a Stadium in Quebec City to placate the 3/5 Conservative seats there.

He is advocating spending two billion dollars to bring an Expo to Edmonton.
Maybe I am the only one remotely concerned with the growing national debt here, but I am of the mindset that we can't be against a stadium in Quebec city, yet for the Expo in Edmonton.

While I appreciate where Monte is coming from,I am of the mindset that advocating any spending like this till we get our feet back under us economically is irresponsible and sliding a few billion to placate the 7/8 Conservative seats in Edmonton is no less wrong then tossing a Stadium in Quebec City to placate the 3/5 Conservative seats there.

I feel as an Edmontonian that I need to add my two cents.

First, did Solberg even write that article? It doesn't say his name anywhere on the page. It says Graham Hicks at the top.

Second,we're not talking 2 billion. The feds would be kicking in about a billion and the province/city would be on the hook for the other billion. I still agree with your point though. This is a lot of money, and we are running a deficit. Belts need to be tightened, and so on. I get it, and even though I'm disappointed as an Edmontonian, I'm understanding.

The Quebec City arena/Edmonton Expo comparison needs to stop as well, because they are not at all the same thing. One is to help a city rekindle their NHL dream, one that may or may not ever happen and does not even appear likely at this point. It has zero support from the private sector so far and it basically amounts to extortion from sleazy Quebec politicians. The other is an event that would serve a purpose, albeit an expensive one. It would promote the oil sands, build lasting infrastructure that Edmonton sorely needs, and bring international dollars to our city, province, and country. The comparison is even more ridiculous in that Edmonton is ALSO trying to build its own arena, but for the most part the stakeholders have been attempting to resolve it at the local level, and there were never even any whispers of federal support. But nobody brings that up here. I guess if Harper slashes a billion to Edmonton's project, then it'll make him look "fair" if he chooses to deny Quebec City $200M down the road. Amazingly, he has found a way to not give Quebec a dime and still screw over Albertans in the process.

Like I said, I understand the rationale here. But in the context of other spending sprees - the G20, the Toronto Pan-Am games, the government's refusal to STILL deny Quebec City arena dollars - I find myself incredibly frustrated as an Edmontonian and a loyal Conservative supporter. Harper has completely taken his base for granted here. His approach to fiscal restraint is perfectly reasonable, except he's only willing to do it in an area where he won't lose seats.

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